Hormone Imbalances
The endocrine (hormonal) system is a marvelously complex network of interactions among the hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal, ovaries/testes, thyroid, adrenal glands and nervous system as well as the gut, fatty tissues, liver and other organs.
Hormonal imbalances can occur as a result of stress whether environmental, behavioral or traumatic or even due to normal physiology such as post-pregnancy states, menopause, or perimenopause. Frank diseases such as hormone secreting tumors are more serious and less frequent causes. Adrenal fatigue is a common cause of hormonal imbalances and can, and does, lead to adult onset diabetes and heart disease.
Since the stress hormone cortisol is ultimately converted from the same source as estrogen and testosterone, extended periods of stress can hijack the body's ability to produce balanced amounts of the sex hormones, such as estrogen, testosterone and progesterone. Estrogen dominance, an imbalance of relative estrogen and progesterone levels, also occurs as a result of high cortisol since progesterone and cortisol compete for the same receptors in the body.
Cortisol suppresses thyroid hormones as a preservation mechanism to keep the body from burning itself up. Additionally, cortisol reduces the ability of progesterone to work. Think about the wisdom of nature in this function: if a person (or animal) is in a stressful/dangerous situation not conducive to raising offspring safely in nature, cortisol will suppress reproduction until the body’s perception, which is key, of the threat has been removed. The brain and hormones do not differentiate between real or perceived threats. The adrenal glands' ability to secrete elevated levels of cortisol for long periods of stress is variable among individuals at different times of his or her life. Eventually, whether it be weeks, months, years or decades, the adrenals will "burn out" or exhaust and can not secrete adequate amounts of stress hormone to keep up with the stress unless steps are taken to reduce stress and rehabilitate the adrenal glands and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
Dr. Hoppins' treatments for hormonal imbalance consider the roles of each of the major endocrine glands and the brain's role in the coordination of and communication among these glands. Failure to provide system support where it is needed can render an otherwise correct and brilliant treatment plan useless. This is why synthetic hormone replacement therapy, birth control pills and sometimes even bioidentical hormone replacement fail to relieve the symptoms of hormone imbalances.
Some common symptoms of hormonal imbalances:
- Insomnia- difficulty staying asleep or falling asleep
- Fatigue
- irritability
- Brain fog, difficulty concentrating, poor short term memory
- Afternoon and evening energy "crashes"
- Anxiety and Depression
- Heavy menstrual flow, clotting, cramping, breast tenderness
- Low Libido, absent libido
- Headaches, Migraines
- Bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation
- Weight gain, inability to lose weight
- Infertility
Some hormones involved in imbalances:
- T3 (triiodothyroxine)
- T4 (thyroxine)
- TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone)
- Adrenaline/epinephrine
- ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone)
- CRH (Corticotropin releasing hormone) Cortisol
- Cortisone
- DHEA
- Estrone
- Estradiol
- Estriol
- Androstenedione
- Androsterone
- Epiandrosterone
- Testosterone
- Progesterone
- FSH (follicle stimulating hormone)
- LH (Luteinizing hormone).